Steam washer condenser



2 Sheets-Sheei 1 G. A. REHM v STEAM WASHER CONDENSER o iE INVENTOR. GUSTAV A. REHM BY PARKER 2. CARTER ATTORNEYS G. A. REHM STEAM WASHER CONDENSER March 10, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 20, 1956 1 INVENTOR. GUSTAV A. REHM PARKER 2 CARTER ATTORNEYS United States Patent STEAM WASHER CONDENSER Gustav A. Rehm, Springfield, Ill., assignor to Springfield Boiler Company, Springfield, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application March 20, 1956, Serial No. 572,676

3 Claims. (Cl. 122-459) means for alternately connecting one of two purifiers or both, the one not connected functioning as a dryer.

Another object is a purifier constructed to separate impurities from steam by centrifugally mixing the stream with cold make-up water.

Another object is a steam purifier constructed to rotate a steam-feed water mixture to expel impurities by centrifugal force and thereafter allowing the steam to flash back to separate it from the impurities in the water.

Other objects will appear from time to time in the ensuing specification and drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical section of a steam drum with my invention;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of Figure l with parts omitted for clarity;

Figure 3 is a section taken along line 3-3 of Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is a section taken along line 4-4 of Figure 3.

The basic structure is shown in my prior Patent No. 2,655,905, and this invention may be considered an improvement thereon although it is not restricted thereto.

In Figure 1 an elongated drum indicated generally at 10 has a suitable number of steam inlet tubes or pipes 12 with a steam outlet chamber at 14. The drum is adapted to contain water up to a normal water level 16.

A separator or purifier 18 receives the steam from the inlet tubes to remove impurities and the steam flows through suitable baffling to a second washer or dryer 20, a dryer 22, and an upper dryer 24 to outlet pipes 25. The direction of steam flow is generally indicated by the arrows.

A base or support 26 is longitudinally welded or otherwise secured in the bottom of the drum with an angle 28 for supporting the Washer-dryer 20. This washer-dryer may have a plurality of staggered openfaced channels, as shown in my prior patent, and an upper chamber 30 receives make-up water through an inlet pipe 31. The water flows down through the channels and serves to remove impurities from the steam. The dryer 22 includes a plurality of staggered openfaced channels, but no water flow is provided. Moisture carried by the steam condenses on the channels and flows down to the water level. The upper dryer 24 may be merely the reverse of the lower dryer, and after collecting in a chamber 32, the moisture flows to the water level through suitable pipes 34. This structure may be basically con ventional as shown in my prior patent.

A feed water make-up pipe 36 is suitably bracketed on the support 26 and supplies water to the purifier 18 through suitable pipes 40. A supporting angle 42 is welded or otherwise suitably mounted on the support 26 and carries a plurality of individual side-by-side purifier 2,876,749 Patented Mar. 10, 1959 chambers 44 as shown in Figure 2. A bracket or plate 45, suitably welded or otherwise secured in the top of the drum as a mounting for the conventional handhold plate 46, also serves as a mounting for the upper end of the purifier structure. A suitable supporting bracket 48 is connected by bolts, as shown, or otherwise, and carries a rear bafile 50 and a supporting plate 52. A frame 54 interconnects the upper and lower mountings and the individual purifier chambers are separately mounted on brackets 56 or the like so that they can be separately replaced. An inlet bafile 58 covers the top of the purifiers to direct incoming steam from the inlet tubes 12.

Each purifier is composed of an outer cylindrical chamber 60 defining an annular steam inlet opening 62. A make-up water supply pipe is connected to each such chamber and an inlet pipe 64 is tangentially disposed on one side of the steam inlet through the chamber wall to mix the incoming steam and make-up water. Below the inlet a collection of helical fins or guides 66, welded to the center tube or the housing 60, serve to rotate the steam and make-up water mixture. Above the fins or blades the steam and cold make-up water mix in an annular chamber 68 which serves to condense the steam. The fins rotate the mixture through at least which centrifugally forces the impurities against the outer wall. The central pipe 70 defines the inner wall and stops at 72. An expansion chamber 74 therebelow allows the condensed steam to flash back. The make-up water will flow down the sides of the outer wall while the reevaporated steam will reverse flow up through the outlet pipe 70, through a suitable opening 76 in the supporting plate 52 and under the rear bafiie 50.

The use, operation and function of my invention are as follows:

I provide a centrifugal type separator or purifier bank which is adapted to simultaneously mix cold makeup water with incoming unpurified steam and centrifugally separate impurities. The mixture is rotated through at least 90 before it is admitted to an expansion chamber which allows the condensed steam to re-evaporate. From the center of the expansion chamber the steam rises through an outlet tube or pipe and fiows ofi to one or more dryers. The make-up water with the impurities flows down the walls of the chamber to the water in the bottom of the drum.

I provide a row of such individual chambers suitably shrouded by individual bafiies 58 or it might be a common bafiie 58 to direct the incoming steam into the annular opening of the chamber. The outlet pipes for the re-evaporated steam from the expansion chamber open through the plate 52 under a common rear bafile 50. It should be understood that the rear and front bafiles 50 and 58 extend across the entire line of individual purifier chambers, and the plate 52, shown in sections but it could be solid, extends below the normal water level 16 and is connected to the upper bracket 44 to direct the incoming steam through the purifiers.

Whereas I have shown the cold feed Water introduced into the separator above the spinner blades, introduction could be made from below. By this structure I condense as much of the steam as possible and knock down all of the impurities which are carried away in the condensate.

The scrubber section 20 can be alternately connected to the feed pipe by a suitable connection 78, shown as not connected to pipe 31, so that the unit can be adapted to function as shown in Patent No. 2,655,905. When the front bank of centrifugal scrubbers are connected to the make-up water pipe, the scrubber 20 may be used as a dryer. I also may disconnect the feed water pipe 40 inside the drum and feed the make-up water to pipe 31 ing from the inventions fundamental theme. I,. therefore, wish that my invention be unrestrictedexceptas by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a steam drum havinga normal=water leveha water. connection for supplying make-up watento the drum, a plurality of. steam inlet tubes forthedrum adapted to admit steam to be purified, a plurality of steam outlet tubes adapted to discharge purified steam, .one or more generally upright purifiers inqthe drum, and bafiles for directing the inlet steam through each purifier, each purifier having a generally cylindrical housing disposed with its lower end below the normal water level, an annular steam inlet at theptop of the housing, means for tangentially admitting make-up water into the housing at the annular steam, inlet, a plurality of helical blades in the housing adjacent but below the steam..and make-up water inlets to thereby form a mixing chamber adapted to rotate the steam and water mixture, an expansion chamber substantially larger thanthe mixing .chamber in the housing below the blades adapted to receive the mixturedischarged from the blades so that the condensed steam will flash back into steam, the discharge '4 from the blades being adjacent the walls of the chamber so that the make-up water with the impurities will fiow down the walls to the water in the lower portion of the drum, and a central outlet for the expansion chamber extending up through the blades so that the re-evaporated purified steam will be discharged to the outlet tubes.

2. The structure of claim 1 further characterized by and including an inlet baflle at the top of the housing shrouding the annular steam inlet so that the entering steam must first flow up under the battle, then downinto the steam inlet.

3. The structure of claim 1 further characterized by and including an outlet bafiie shrouding the-central outlet constructed and directed to direct the discharge purified steam down toward the normal water level in the drum.

. ReferencastCited in the .fileof this; patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Sept. 22, 1954 

